Degrees of Metaphoricity

Kingsmill calls attention to the common imagery used by the Song of Songs and the overtly “wisdom” literature, especially Proverbs.  She makes a good case.  But the difference between the Song and the other wisdom literature is notable. 

Proverbs 8:7 says, “My palate will meditate on truth.”  Kingsmill links this to Song 2:3: “his fruit is sweet to my palate.”  The two passages share a common image of tasting, and the common term “palate.”  But unless you already know that the Song is about wisdom, you wouldn’t read Song 2:3 metaphorically. 

This is not necessarily an argument against Kingsmill; she is convincing in showing that Proverbs and the Song share an imaginative world, and that does strongly suggest that the Song is intended as wisdom literature.  But the two books express that common world quite differently.

The Proverb calls attention to its metaphoricity; the Song enters more deeply into metaphoricity. If it is about wisdom, it is so in a far more veiled way than the other wisdom literature.